March 13, 2020 at 4:59 p.m.
City holds public meeting on North Stevens Street project
Residents, business owners briefed on what to expect this summer
City holds public meeting on North Stevens Street project
"This is a three-year project, the first two years are construction work," Barden said. "Last year we did reconstruction from Frederick to Dwight streets, not quite to Kwik Trip. We replaced all utilities, all asphalt and curb and gutter."
Barden said the replacement asphalt laid last year is just the first of two layers laid because the engineers will check for any irregularities caused by settling pipes or fill over the course of the freeze/thaw cycle. Those irregularities in the 3-inch layer will be repaired before the manhole casings and other mechanicals are raised to their final height and the last 2-inch layer of pavement will be laid.
"There is some deep pipe out there, and we might have trouble in the trenches, we might have curb issues and some asphalt issues that will need to be addressed," Barden said.
Because the final layer of asphalt hasn't been laid yet, there has been some standing water in the reconstructed section which could have caused potholes in the asphalt laid last year, Barden noted. These problems will all be addressed either later this month or early April before the final layer of asphalt is due to be laid by mid-June according to the tentative schedule.
Barden said that some unfinished concrete work from last year on the southern portion of Stevens Street between Frederick and Dwight streets such as concrete sidewalks will be finished up at the same time work will get underway from Dwight to the Wisconsin Highway 17 bypass. Bad weather and cold air temperatures at the end of the construction season last year made pouring and properly curing the concrete extremely difficult, even by covering it with plastic and/or blankets.
"We have been monitoring the concrete that was laid during this period to make sure the concrete is in good shape, along with any other concrete or asphalt," Barden said, adding if any of the work needs to be redone, that will be taken care of early in this year's work.
"We're coming to a thawing period, and there is potential for the contractor to be able to get in there and replace the recycled material (on the driveways)," he explained.
As the snow melts and moisture gets under the sidewalks laid last year, Barden said there may be some movement in the material. He said anyone with problems in front of their properties with sidewalks or driveways should contact the engineering team so it can be repaired.
He said once these issues are addressed, the final layer of asphalt can be laid in mid-June and the final line striping put down.
When it came to what could be expected this year on the north side of Stevens Street is the same as those residents and businesses in the southern area of the project faced last year, and some improvements will be made to that stretch of Stevens Street.
"We will be adding sidewalks to the north side," Barden said. "There will be a 7-foot terrace on the parkway with a 5-foot (concrete) sidewalk all the way up to the bypass (on the north side of the street). We're also putting in a 8-foot asphalt bike path on the south side."
He said there would be a "significant change" in curb height on this stretch from what it is now. This is being done so that sidewalk and driveways match up better.
Barden said that there will be detours in the areas where work is actively taking place, but temporary road surfaces will be maintained as much as possible to businesses in the area. Detours around the work on the south end of the project done last year will be the same as last year, and will be necessary to protect workers in the middle of the street raising manhole casings. Heavy truck traffic will be funneled into specific routes to keep them off of streets in poor condition.
Like last year, construction will halt during the Hodag Country Festival, with temporary paving designed to last just long enough to accommodate festival traffic being put in place in key areas.
He said that after last year, project managers had heard concerns from business owners on the north side of Stevens about customers being able to access their properties.
"Our goal is to affect businesses as little as possible. The idea is to keep traffic moving. But you will be affected, but we will try to make it as easy for you as possible," Barden said.
He said that during the first couple weeks of construction, traffic will not be allowed south of Iverson as pipe is laid. Barden said the contractors will move as fast as possible, but with the depth that pipes are being laid varying from 11 to 27 feet over the length of the project, some stretches will take longer to complete than others.
He also said that water supply to houses and business will be shut off as connections are made to the new pipe, but those will be kept to the bare minimum and timed to not come at inconvenient times, such as during lunch rush at eating establishments.
Barden also assured those in attendance that at the end of each construction day all driveways will be accessible and a temporary roadway will be in place. All underground work is scheduled to be finished by mid-August, and construction will wrap up by Oct. 2.
Updates on the status of the project will be posted to the city's website on a weekly basis, Barden said.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at jamie@rivernews online.com.
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